At nearly $5 a gallon, filling up with regular unleaded gasoline has forced some Hoosiers to rethink their daily routines as prices climbed fast across the state in a week.Drivers were seeing sticker shock at the pump, with some stations charging $4.99 a gallon on Friday afternoon.Driver Janice Gatliff said, "It's way too high. It's higher than I think I've ever known it to be and I think it's ridiculous."Here's her strategy. "Be strategic, be efficient with your routes, multitask with your errands, and prioritize if going somewhere is worth the extra price of fuel."According to American Automobile Association, the national average on Friday was $4.39, the highest it's been since July 2022.Driver Teddi Gilbert said, "This is getting ridiculous; gas prices, food stamps, bread, water, any of the necessities is getting out of hand."Gilbert said the rise in gas prices made her reconsider how she lives her daily life, and consider cutting costs in other areas. "It's really hard out here. I mean, minimum wage, $13 an hour. It did take a toll to my business. I have a transportation business, I own several businesses, and gas prices aint helping none of this." Andreas Hauskrecht, a clinical professor of business economics at Indiana University, said there's no definite answer as to why the prices are going up. "They should be actually be higher. There's reasons. We've had a lot of excess supply of oil before the war (with Iran) broke out. The United States and others are producing more. There's less demand."Hauskrecht said he believes opening the Strait of Hormuz will help but won't be an immediate fix, and it could take months before gas prices are more affordable. "The longer that the current situation will prevail, the stronger will be the price effects."Gas prices aren't the only expenses Hauskrecht believes will go up.Hauskrecht said, "Our farmers need fertilizer. Fertilizer is extremely energy intensive. A lot of fertilizers comes through the Strait of Hormuz. Fertilizer is blocked. This will soon then arrive on your table, because food prices are going up, energy prices are going up. Everything has to be transported. This will eat through the entire system." ...read more read less